Bronwyn Williams
Futurist x Economist = Court Jester
The Court Jester you didn't know you needed : Bronwyn is a professional futurist and economist who helps you understand our world so you can change it. She is the author of four books, and has extensive experience consulting to listed firms, international NGOs, central banks and governments all over the world. She is a sought after media commentator comfortable with speaking uncomfortable, yet necessary truth to power.
Book Bronwyn
Biography
Meet Bronwyn Williams
Futurist, Economist and Business Trends Analyst
Bronwyn Williams is a polymath who will challenge your assumptions about the present and the future. She is a Futurist, Economist and Business Trends Analyst.
She has over a decade’s worth of experience in strategic management, trend research and strategic foresight. She has consulted for clients in public and private sectors across the world.
Part economist, part strategist, Bronwyn’s particular areas of expertise include fintech trends, alternative economic models, and sustainable futures design.
She co-authored The Future Starts Now published by Bloomsbury UK and Rescuing our Republic, a thought-provoking book with interviews from a diverse group of public intellectuals, business leaders and political mavericks discussing tangible ways South Africa can rescue itself from itself. She’s a columnist for leading business and technology publications and is a sought-after media commentator on future trends and economic trajectories for network channels, including CNBC Africa and eNCA in South Africa.
Bronwyn has delivered hundreds of keynotes to audiences across dozens of countries. Her top speaking topics centre around “futurenomics,” that is, the future trajectory and potential of the social and political economic forces that shape our world and how we connect and trade with each other.
Secondary speaking topics include consumer trends, generational cycles, macro and microeconomic forecasts, PPE (politics, philosophy and economics), change management, foresight strategy and techniques, and risk management.
Bronwyn’s educational credentials include tertiary qualifications in Marketing Management (University of Johannesburg), Economics (University of London), Foresight (University of Manchester), and Future Studies (University of Stellenbosch) and Masters in Applied Economics from the University of Bath.
She is a partner at Flux Trends and an associate at Futurist.com. Bronwyn’s research focuses on how macroeconomic trends and emerging technologies will impact businesses, industries, and nations in the short and long term.
The clients that she has worked with include Top 40 JSE-listed companies, the South African Reserve Bank, the Dubai Future Forum, various African government departments, and global business leaders. She also guest lectures at leading business schools, such as Duke, GIBS, Parsons New School of Design, UCT and the University of Johannesburg. She is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists, a volunteer with the Millennium Project and an advisor at the Lifeboat Foundation and a Futures Fellow with the UNDP.
What I Currently Do
Publications
The Future 80 Trends for South Africa
The Future Starts Now
The One Thing
The Book Every Business Owner Must Read
Aftershocks and Opportunities – Scenarios for a Post-Pandemic Future
ECOFASCISM: leviathan or lifejacket of humankind?
Saving South Africa – Radical ideas for a hopeful future
Speaking Topics
Barbarians at the Gate
Futurenomics The future of economics - and the economics of the future In this discussion about the future of money, markets, and humankind, we discuss: - Africa's new resource curse loading - what's the price of money got to do with migration? - Geo-economics in world of multipolarity without multilateralism - Capital coherence (and cowardice) - Debt dilemmas and delulu - The rise of the incorporated individual (and the price of eggs) - Tax "omniscience" in the age of AI and digital identities and much more besides.
Greenshoots
This short keynote emphasises the importance of sustained, sustainable development for Southern Africa – development that balances human flourishing with environmental objectives and understands that we grow best and furthest when we grow together, in harmony with our neighbours and our world. Degrowth is not an option for Africa; but balanced growth is an imperative. The question becomes, how can we get more people what they need for less? Where are the shortcuts to sustainable transformation? 5 minutes From apathy to anarchy to activism – Gen Z grows up and gets involved in building their future (from Luh Twizzy to Shadow Boards and teenage politicians) Investing in the Alphas – the time is NOW to fix early childhood development and stop another generation from being physically and fiscally stunted. Energy FROM all – from loadshedding and tax revolts to lights on – transformation beyond greening (or from “net zero” Karpowerships towards real economic emPOWERMENT through public and private partnerships (and oil endowments in Namibia)) Optimism as a moral duty – investing in what we want vs hedging against what we don’t want. 5 years Closing the skills gap – fixing structural employment through skills and technology, using AI as an enabler rather than an adversary and avoiding technological redundancy The 6 pack secret to success – (high ROI Physical and Political infrastructure investment: 1. high savings, 2. access to healthcare, 3. access to education, 4. independent demography, 5. stable policy, 6. economic openness) Beyond BRICS, towards African Unity – the opportunities of “friendshoring” in a bi-polar, divided world Metaversanomics – beyond the hype towards digital personal and national identity 50 years Demographic dividend – keeping human productivity on the asset rather than the liability side of the state leger. Feeding the future: unlocking the food-energy-water nexus, by planting today, as wise ancestors do Connecting the continent- meme, medium, map and money – opportunities for literally and figuratively connecting Africa to itself and the world, from rail networks to starlink to power grids and frictionless movement of talent and capital Moonshots – taking inspiration from Neom to Nairobi – and looking to the stars.
Sustainability served 2 ways
As the world comes (slowly) out of the covid crisis and right into the next twin crises of conflict and climate, it’s time to reevaluate what “sustainability” really is on a personal and a political level. This talk looks at new trends shaping the future of energy (and everything), including: The difference between positive and negative sustainability – and how to become a pragmatic optimist The economics of degrowth and stagflation – and the shift from the politics of abundance to the politics of scarcity Greenling and the growing threat of coordinated corporate denial of service attacks Carbon credits scores and the commoditisation and quantification of the commons The trade offs between urgency and importance New energy sources and solutions -and influencers Activist employees and entrepreneurs Centralised and decentralised wicked problem solving And much more.
Greater than the Sum: The future of adding value – and being valued in return.
HOW TO SHIFT YOUR TEAM THINKING FROM ZERO-SUM TO WIN-WIN GAMES
The F53 Business Leadership Advanced Driving Workshop
The F53 Business Leadership “Advanced Driving” Workshop is a two-day intensive workshop that gives leaders a full suite of tools, resources and techniques to face uncertainty and complexity confidently. Created by Flux Trends, this workshop will teach business leaders how to incorporate defensive leadership practices into their daily decision-making process and equip them with the tools to face and build the future they want for their business. This workshop uses our new “F53” Methodology, which utilises unique foresight principles. These principles act as a five-point check system to ensure that you have considered all the factors that will impact how your business confidently and decisively addresses uncertainty, complexity, risks, growth, and opportunities at any given time. Think of this workshop as your Swiss army knife with all that you need to spot, decipher, interpret and manage complexity and uncertainty. The 5-parts of this intensive advanced Business “Driving” workshop will teach you to: Day One Search for trends that will impact your industry. Identify trends that are relevant to your industry using our T.R.E.N.D.S methodology. “Predict” how trends can create various future worlds using trend games to engage and experiment with problems and solutions to make decisions about the future of your business. Day Two Decide on a strategy using backcasting to create a roadmap of how their created world will be. Test drive your strategy for safety to ensure that it is future-safe by addressing. “Poor visibility” (blindspots/uncertainty / poly crisis) “Being tailgated” (new competition) “Wet roads” (macroeconomic conditions, e.g. dampened economy and climate change) Throughout this interactive and intensive workshop, we will transfer and equip you and your team with a condensed version of the basics of foresight, signal and horizon scanning so you can integrate them into your business practices.
Media Appearances
Tupperware Bankruptcy
ENCA
Annual report
ENCA
Business Trends | The future of retail banking as transactions move online
SABC
Accounting, Bookkeeping- some of fastest-declining jobs'
Newzroom Afrika
Feedback
"It was a pleasure to e-meet you this morning. Thank you so much for the spending time with our delegates this morning. I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for the insightful and impactful address you delivered to the OCS delegation today. Your ability to articulate complex ideas with clarity and passion resonated with everyone in the room. The perspectives you shared not only enlightened us but also inspired a renewed sense of purpose within our team. Your expertise and vision are invaluable, and I truly appreciate the time and effort you invested in preparing for this engagement. Thank you once again for your remarkable contribution. We look forward to implementing some of the ideas you presented and continuing our collaboration in the future."
Jacob Makgato
"Although words cannot fully describe how impressed we were with her and how thankful we are for her participation, I'll try my best. I got excited reading your profile while searching for presenters, even more so when we had the initial briefing, and I must commend you - you exceeded all expectations. You are a captivating individual and it was wonderful to see you in action."
Alwyn van Niekerk
""Chaos-whisperer.”"
Fred Roets
"It was an absolute delight to hear your insights, case studies, and advice yesterday. You are a master of metaphors! The participants reported a diverse range of valuable insights that they have already leveraged into actions. Thank you so very much."
Virginia Morris
"The feedback from last night was amazing! I did a round at the end where I asked what the CFOs highlights were and many of them said it was Bronwyn. For me, Bronwyn was definitely the highlight of the evening. I've booked many a keynote speaker and her Postalgia to Purpose talk was by far the best in the 4 years I've been doing this."
Sungula Nkabinde
Enquire about booking